Life Changing Decision....

[puckhead]

Well once again I am going to ask complete strangers for what they would do in a certain situation that is presenting itself to me as we speak. I am just looking for some honest opinions so I can get an idea if I’m insane or faced with a good problem. Here’s the situation:

I am currently a pilot as I think I said in an earlier post and work for a regional. I will pull in around 30K this year (maybe a tad more that’s conservative) and not much more the following (35 maybe?). I am currently 22 years old and working on college while I work full time. I will be most likely finishing my 2 year transfer degree at the end of the fall and will then have to move to a 4 year institution. All this seems pretty straight forward but I may be losing my job at the end of the year. We are losing planes and well, it’s a ticking clock at this point. If I did lose my job, my plan was to go to pharmacy school and maybe enter that as a career and not return if recalled. That is still my plan but now I have been thinking of doing something I have always dreamed of. Moving to another country to go to school. Now put aside getting accepted, visiting (which I am soon), visa's and other small things and let me ask you this. Would anyone leave to go to school and do something like this even though you would give up your job, take on debt (around 90K), and move to a new country (OZ)?

Like I said it has always been a dream but now may be a reality. I would take on debt but have a good paying job after and be eligible for citizenship as it is a needed job there. It could open doors but also will shut others such as returning to flying. Any ideas? Am I crazy?

[minnie1928]

I say go for it... it it's been your dream to do these things, and they are reasonably within reach, then do it.

[red92s]

Australia and New Zealand make it pretty tough to get work authorization from what I can recall when I spent a couple months down there studying.

[Fizgig]

I think the only good reason to go to college, particularly if you're piling up debt, is to pursue a career that's worth the investment. You say that your dream is to move to another country for school, but to what end? It may be good to consider volunteerism over there instead of being a student.

If you do this and plan to come back to the US to work, make sure the degree will be recognized here. Many international degrees aren't.

[jIM_Ohio]

You need to be sure you know what you WANT. If you want it, the debt will not matter and you are more likely to finish what you started.

I am not convinced (based on your post) you want to be a pharmacist. Make sure you want it bad.

[disneysteve]

If I did lose my job, my plan was to go to pharmacy school and maybe enter that as a career

You need to be sure you know what you WANT.

I agree with Jim. You need to have a plan. Your original post doesn't sound like you do. Planning to go to pharmacy school and "maybe" doing that as a career doesn't sound too convincing. Why bother with the time, effort and expense of pharmacy school unless that is really your goal in life?

As for the international thing, what is your plan for that? What would you be studying? Would the degree you earn be recognized if you return to the US after school? If not, is it your intent to permanently relocate to this other country?

[wincrasher]

If I were you, I'd try to find a way to parlay your pilot skills into something that pays you more money. Surely you have invested alot of your time and skill to get where you currently are. Even in this economy, you have a skill that is not tremendously common.

Even though travel is down right now, there may be opportunity later as more and more pilots retire.

The drudgery and low pay of a regional airline is definately affecting your love of flying. Look for other jobs within aviation that may interest you and position you to make more money. 4-6 years of study, $90k of debt just to make $60-$90k (if that much) working at a CVS doesn't sound nearly as exciting as a career in travel/aviation.

[EEinNJ]

I'm sure you already know there are plenty of people in drudge jobs that try to scrape together the time and money to build flight time to qualify for the job you have. At one time I was, but I ended up sticking with engineering.

I don't blame you for considering other careers, nobody goes into aviation aspiring to be a regional FO for 25k a year. It's a stepping stone, and there are lots of different aviation jobs, especially overseas.
I've known 3 American captains, only one is still flying- retirements=new hires. A friend of friend started out as an instructor and is now a captain with Continental. Another pilot I know went from a Learjet flying checks, to corporate charters. Unless you hate flying or the lifestyle, just find a better job.

[puckhead]

Wow lots of responses! Thanks guys and girls! At the moment Im taking the emotion part out of it and purely looking at this from a rational where will this get me position. As for flying, yes I love flying but finding a better flying job isnt easy and without getting into all the reasons why Ill just say that I like the flying part and seeing new cities once in a while but the rest.....is well a toss up. As far as a plan, Im still researching that at the moment so yes most of you are right I dont have a solid plan but Im working on it as I go since Im still researching. Anyway like I said thanks for the input, I was looking for some non-biased input. If anyone else wants to add please do!

[nck4857]

What regional do you fly for? I almost gave up flying a couple of years ago, I was enrolled back in college and everything but ended up not going through with it...

[puckhead]

What regional do you fly for? I almost gave up flying a couple of years ago, I was enrolled back in college and everything but ended up not going through with it...

Currently at Mesaba. Do you currently fly?

[snafu]

This is a serious, life altering decision, not to be taken lightly. Have you spent any significant time in OZ? Do you have a support network there...friends, relatives? I do international contract work and notice that my American colleagues have the most difficult time adjusting to 'foreign' ways of doing business and developing relationships. [They tend to keep telling locals how things are done in the USA which creates friction].

International students are important to universities and is encouraged via student work permits and credit for other course work. As mentioned, you must verify your credentials will be accepted in your home country as graduates are not encouraged to stay in OZ. Would you find it acceptable to take on other citizenship to gain employment?

[Mike75]

stick to 1 decision

I am currently a pilot as I think I said in an earlier post and work for a regional. I will pull in around 30K this year (maybe a tad more that’s conservative) and not much more the following (35 maybe?). I am currently 22 years old and working on college while I work full time. I will be most likely finishing my 2 year transfer degree at the end of the fall and will then have to move to a 4 year institution. All this seems pretty straight forward but I may be losing my job at the end of the year. We are losing planes and well, it’s a ticking clock at this point. If I did lose my job, my plan was to go to pharmacy school and maybe enter that as a career and not return if recalled. That is still my plan but now I have been thinking of doing something I have always dreamed of. Moving to another country to go to school. Now put aside getting accepted, visiting (which I am soon), visa's and other small things and let me ask you this. Would anyone leave to go to school and do something like this even though you would give up your job, take on debt (around 90K), and move to a new country (OZ)?

First of all, anchor yourself to one 1 career. You are thinking of 3 totally different career paths and all three of you will take you in a direction from which you can't easily come back to where you are right now.

Make up your mind and then work hard towards it. Stop thinking about what will happen in future because you can never be sure of it. Do what you want to do.

[nck4857]

I fly for Airtran and I've basically decided just to ride the whole industry/job out.. I think there will be a high demand for pilots someday in the future, so I figure if I can survive, it will pay off in the long term. If I was still at a regional, I would defiantly be looking seriously at going back to school, probably something in the medical field....

[puckhead]

I fly for Airtran and I've basically decided just to ride the whole industry/job out.. I think there will be a high demand for pilots someday in the future, so I figure if I can survive, it will pay off in the long term. If I was still at a regional, I would defiantly be looking seriously at going back to school, probably something in the medical field....

Oh man I thought airlines like Airtran were the place to be! I would probably do the same thing in your situation and may still do it in mine but boy do I think people have some misconceptions about this job lol.

About some of the other posts, to clear some things up. I have one career at the moment and am thinking of switching to another. I have spent some time down there and like it very much. I am going back this summer for a few weeks as well to do more research. I totally understand what snafu is saying about Americans in foreign countries though, and I want to do exactly so I can live like them not make them live like me. Finally just because I feel I need to touch on this, regional’s are not a stepping stone, there are plenty of lifers at every one of them.

Thanks again for the replies guys; it’s nice to have the wide range of opinions!